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Seal-Locks. N0. 143,544. 4 Patented Oct. 7.,]873.

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1 inve ni 01 I l i .Aff/Www4 rvr rATEs JAMES E. THOMSON, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

' IMPROVEMENT IN SEAL-LOCKS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 143,541.1, dated October 7, 1873; application iiled J September'l), 1873.

To all whom. it may concern:

Beit known that I, JAMns E. THOMSON, of Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented Improvements in Seal-Locks and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specifica tion, in which- Figure l is a plan view with the face of the lock open. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the open lock with the seal-plate removed and the hasp locked. Fig. 3 is a plan of same, showing the act of throwing back the hasp. Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7 are details to be referred to.

Locks have heretofore been made in which the operation of throwing the bolt from out the catch would inutilate aseal or stamp placed therein 5 but in such locks if the bolt be thrown by any means so as to avoid mutilating the seal the lock could then be removedwithout injury to the stamp.

My invention is particularly adapted to padlocks; and has for its object to secure the cancellation of a seal or stamp contained therein, even though the mechanism to beoperated in throwing the bolt or catch fails to effect such cancellation. My invention consists in connecting with the hasp of a padlock a mechanism by which the act of unclosing or removing said hasp will cause the stamp or seal to be mutilated, even though the lock be picked or otherwise opened.

In order that those skilled in the art may make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe the manner in which I have carried it out.

In the said drawings, A is the casing of the lock; B, the hasp; and O, the bolt or catch that holds the hasp. rlhis catch C turns on a pin, c', and has a hooked beveled head, c, which engages in a catch on the end of the hasp when the padlock is closed. The lower end is rounded or bent, as shown at 4, and has bearing against it the spring c, secured to the casing at a. The spindle for the barrel of the key in this instance is located at D near the top of the lock. The dog E, shaped substantially as shown, has an ear, e', which fits around the spindle D, and lies against the back of the lock-case. In the end of thisy dog toward the rivet p of the hasp is a pin, i, which is set into the dog, as is shown in Fig. 6, being backed by a spring, u, and prevented from escaping from its socket by the pin or screw o and shoulder o. Resting against the dog on its lower side Ais a knife-carrier, F, whichcarries a series of projecting cutters or knives, 9 9 9, for mutilating a seal, and has grooves r and s on its under side, as seen in Figs. 4 and 5, in

order to slide on ways l and 2, which are fastened to the back of the case, one end of the knife-carrier F being against the curved portion of the catch C, and that portion of the carrier being beveled and cut away beneath, as seen at 3, Figs. 4 and 5, so that as it is pressed down, it acts as a wedge against the lower end of the catch C, pressing it back and thus withdrawing the hooked end c, and releasing the hasp B.. (See Fig. 3.) When the key is passed over the spindle and turned, it bears against the dog E, forcing the end e down against the knife-carrier F, depressing it along the ways l 2, until the hasp is released from the catch by the bevel 3, and the lock can be opened by throwing back the hasp. The act of throwing the hasp back again puts into operation the knife-carrier, as follows: Projecting from the end of the hasp adjacent to pivot p is an arm, b. (See Fig. 2.) As the hasp B opens the arm b passes up, and, engaging with the pin t', forces it up also, thereby depressing the end e ofthe dog E, which, in turn, forces down the knife-carrier F until the pin i is released from it, (see Fig. 3,) when theknife-carrier and dog are again returned to their original position by the pressure of the spring x, one end of which spring iits in a recess in the knife-carrier, the other bearing against the plate or casing of the lock at y. The knife-carrier F and dog E having resumed their position by the pressure of the spring w, the pin i will be found to be below the arm b, the arm having passed it in its upward course, as described. When the hasp has to be again closed, the arm, in its downward course, again strikes the pin c', but the end e of the dog E -is stopped by the stud m, and the dog held in position, while the yielding of the spring a, Fig. 6, allows the arm to pass the pint' and resume its position, as shown in Fig. 2, without injury to the stamp during the act of lockrrrcn. r

ing. Overlying the mechanism heretofore described is a stamp or seal holding plate, H,

` which rests on shoulders 11 11, and is held by screws. This plate has a series of slots, l0 10, through which project the cutters 9 9` 9. This plate also has punches g g, which correspond to l holes g g in the lock-cover R. The lock-cover is mark or design being oppositethe opening P and over the slots 10 10; the lockooyer R is closed; the eye 20 passes into the opening 21 and is caught by the point of the hasp B, and, at the same time, the stamp or seal is punctured by the punches g g and knives 9 9, the ends of the knives resting in the semicircular cuts 6 6, along the upper edge of the inside of the opening P, and the'stamp is firmly held with its special mark before the opening, so as to be inspected at any time. .The hasp is then pushed into the lock until its end is caught by the catch C. The locking is then complete.

In the operation of unlocking, as hereinbefore described, as the knife-carrier passes down the knives traverse the slots 10 l0 and thoroughly mutilate the stamp or seal.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The sliding plate F, carrying a series of knives for canceling a stamp, in combination with the hasp B, provided with a suitable deu vice for operating the same, substantially as and for the purposeset forth.

2. The dog E, in combination with the sliding knife-carrier, for withdrawing the catch C, and, at the same time, canceling the seal, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The hasp B, carrying the arm b, in combination with the oscillating dog E and traveling knifecarrier F for canceling the seal independent of throwing the bolt, as set forth.

4. The dog E, constructed with the sliding pin i, spring n, and stop o o, in combination with the 'arm b and knifecarrier F, all constructed substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

5. In a seal-lock, the arrangement of a Vertically-sliding plate, F, carrying a canceling apparatus, and operated by a key or spring', so as to pass, in the act of cancellation, across a transparent portion of the lock case or face, in order that any mutilation of the stamp may be detected without opening the lock, substantially as set forth.

JAS. E. THOMSON.

Witnesses: Y

` JN0. D. PATTEN,

. It. K. Evans. 

